Payments network Mesh is partnering with Visa to allow users to spend their stablecoins and crypto balances at over 175 million merchants, enabling tap-to-pay transactions without off-ramping to fiat first.
Roughly 774 million people globally owned crypto as of June 2026, but crypto card volumes were about $1.5 billion monthly by late last year. The tie-up seeks to bridge that gap by eliminating the friction of pre-funding debit cards or routing transfers through bank accounts, provisioning a virtual Visa credential behind the scenes so consumers can pay directly from their existing wallets.
“Crypto never had a spending problem — it has a last-mile problem, and until now, closing it meant getting a separate card,” Bam Azizi, CEO and Co-founder of Mesh, said in a press release. “Mesh handles the funding and conversion, so a balance becomes purchasing power at the moment of payment, with nothing for the user to move and nothing for the merchant to change.”
When consumers tap their phone at checkout or buy something online, a digital Visa card is created and Mesh converts the funds into a local currency in real time. The merchant gets paid in fiat through their existing credit card terminal, without buying new hardware or dealing with a crypto wallet.
On the infrastructure front, the arrangement can help digital wallet platforms and financial apps act as a shortcut to Visa’s network. Rather than spending months setting up their own card programs and navigating banking rules, partner platforms can plug into Mesh to give their users access.The company, which will also take on user identity and background checks, said it will announce specific wallet partners and device support as the rollout gets closer.
For Visa, this is its latest of several moves into the digital asset space. This summer, the financial giant announced that it would offer OpenUSD minting and redeeming, and has also opened up more data to blockchain lenders as more consumers seek stablecoin-linked cards.
The partnership also comes over two months after rival Mastercard bought stablecoin infrastructure firm BVNK for $1.8 billion. Late last week, Mastercard leveraged that deal with the launch of its Global Money Platform, which combines its payment network with BVNK's stablecoin and blockchain tech via a single API. The offering allows banks and fintechs to embed multi-currency accounts, including fiat and stablecoins, real-time conversion, card issuing and local bank payouts.
